Good Content: Four Things to Fix for Google SERP Ranking

Beyond the fancy themes and colourful images your readers can see, Google also needs to be pleased with your website before you even have a chance to rank on a SERP.

So, how do you create good content for your website by Google’s standards?

I’ll show you briefly, but first, let’s understand how Google finds your website.

Googlebot

Googlebot is Google’s web crawler, created to find websites and effectively index them for display on Google SERP. This process is called crawling.

Google uses the Googlebot crawler to discover your webpage and decide if the content is good enough to rank.

Now, let’s talk about good content. How can you make good content for Google SERPs?

Here are four areas you have to fix before Google can give you an A+ on your site.

Your Title Tag

Moz describes the title tag as the single most important on-page SEO element. They are right. Google only displays the first 65 characters to users on their SERPs. Make sure your title tag is unique and contains 65 characters or less. Be aware that stuffing your title tag with keywords in an effort to rank is a bad idea. 

Your Meta Description

While your page’s description is not a guarantee that your page will rank, Google displays it to SERP users, and it is one of the most compelling ways to get users to click on your page in search results, which, in turn, boosts your CTRs. Stick to 160 characters or less; try not to stuff it with the keywords you’re trying to rank for. 

Look at the example below. Is it a good or bad meta description? I’ll let you decide.

Your Images

Did you know that Googlebot cannot see your images? Yes, the Google crawler only sees your alt tags, which are then indexed as a search result. Alt tags are short descriptions of images on your site. A proper alt tag should never be generic. Optimise your images and ensure that the text in your alt tag relates to the image attached, possibly with a keyword relevant to the content it is giving visuals to. For more technical optimization, create an image sitemap for your pages and add structured data to describe your website’s images.

Your Good Content

Here’s the best part – content matters! Every aspect of your content body counts in the ranking race, from length to headings and subheadings to even spelling and grammar.

The quality of your content is important as well. If you attract users to your page by stuffing your content with keywords that match their search intent, but you do not provide useful information, this will shoot your bounce rates through the roof, and Google will gradually de-rank your site. Also, ensure that you write lengthy yet concise content, as Google does not value thin content for SERPs.

I’m feeling generous, so let me throw in a bonus factor: 

Links

Backlinks, internal links, you name them. Links are a great way of getting Google to recognise what websites and pages provide users with value. Clean up your site to ensure there are no broken links, and add redirects to missing pages. You can find broken links within Google Search Console or any whitehat crawlers.

Why should I see my site through Google’s eyes?

If you can please users with a clear and helpful website while satisfying Googlebot’s needs, you may experience more organic growth and improved ranking.